Sourcing Process
What we do for you, so you don’t have to
Already managing your supply? Sourcing a product overseas may have numerous disruptions and unavoidable risks so it requires constant attention to avoid and manage such uncertainties. As a reliable product sourcing agency, we are not only your business partners; we strive for more by ensuring that we oversee the entire supply chain for you. Working hand in hand with you and our suppliers helps us communicate your needs more effectively. It also helps us leverage better deals from factory owners who respect and trust us.
From sourcing the right factory to overseeing quality control, our product sourcing techniques will be a necessity to help you succeed. It’s a partnership arrangement really. We organize and manage your demand forecasting, purchase orders, inventory or cash, importing, warehouse operations or customer invoices. Let’s have a detailed conversation!
Our Sourcing Steps
As a project kick off you have an onboarding call with your dedicated project manager. She not only explains our processes but most importantly learns your needs and expectations for your product. Our team considers price, specification, quality, service delivery, and customer satisfaction, and helps you to decide on the best sourcing countries for your product. We create a product sourcing plan that matches your goals and vision.
We have a large network of trusted and verified manufacturers and suppliers worldwide, especially in China, South America, Europe and South East Asia. But we don’t stop there. We constantly undertake new factory research and verification using various sources. In China, we usually reach out to 25 manufacturers, while in the rest of the world, we contact up to 40 potential suppliers. We can also sign NDAs and NNNs with the factories if you require it.
We obtain quotations from factories and compare them based on various factors, always with your specifications and goals in mind. We do a deeper analysis of the best offers to verify the suppliers meet all our requirements in terms of compliance, company profile, product quality and understanding of your product conditions.
In order to import and sell your product you might require certain certifications. We can help you to navigate the legal requirements by conducting a compliance check, that will give you a clear indication of what is needed to sell your product in your chosen market. During the quotation process, we inquire if the suppliers can provide the requested certification. In case a supplier does not have the needed certification, we can reach out to laboratories and request quotes for the necessary tests.
We further narrow down the list of received offers to the 2-3 most qualified suppliers and initiate the sampling ordering process with them. We always recommend having a backup factory in case of high demand and to reduce dependency on one company.
Samples are crucial to determine the best suppliers to work with, and to set a standard for mass production. We handle the sample ordering process for you. This entails ensuring the samples are made exactly as requested, helping you to organize payment for the sample, and holding suppliers accountable for their promised delivery times. After the samples are finished, we always request photos and videos from the suppliers prior to shipment. That step ensures that no valuable time is lost sending obviously wrong or faulty samples. Next, we conduct a quality inspection and provide you with a detailed report. This helps you not only to identify problems before the product is shipped around the world to you, we can also directly discuss improvements with suppliers and request new samples if needed.
After you receive a sample that meets all your requirements and are ready to go forward with mass production, we advise setting up a purchase agreement. This step ensures all discussed details of your product and packaging as well as negotiated prices, payment terms, delivery times and contract terms are understood, agreed upon, signed and stamped by the supplier. In case anything unexpected should happen, you will have an added security net in place.
During mass production, we monitor the process closely and keep you updated about everything that happens. At the end of mass production, we recommend doing a quality inspection before the goods are sent on their way to you. It is important to ensure the goods are produced as agreed on before they are delivered to you or even directly to your buyers. Quality inspections during the production process can also be arranged as needed, your project manager will advise you on the best course of action for your product.
